ZTT is the label of superstar producer Trevor Horn and was founded in 1983 together with Paul Morley and Jill Sinclair. The Mix of perfect Pop Music, new recording and sound technologies, great Artwork and Marketing gave artists like Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Propaganda or The Art of Noise the perfect home to conquer the world. Hit records like "Relax", "Dr. Mabuse", "Two Tribes", "Moments In Love" or "The Power Of Love" became bestselling records in the mid 80s…

His previous album having seen the light of day only in the Land of the Rising Sun, so it’s been a long wait for the fans of former MAHAVISHNU prodigy to deliver a follow-up to 1988?s “Divine Emotion” – and looks like the veteran was quite cautious to do so now. This album is a revised version of 2012 “Thunder” that got expanded from its limited run to span all the facets of Narada’s talent and become his best work to date.

Peter Sculthorpe is the most internationally prominent Australian composer to emerge in the second half of the 20th century. Here is the first of three volumes with his works for string quartet.

Over the years, Bartók’s two Violin Sonatas have enjoyed outstanding advocacy on disc, not least from Isabelle Faust and James Ehnes. This new, superbly recorded SACD release certainly matches, and in places exceeds, their white-hot intensity. Barnábas Kelemen and Zoltán Kocsis respond with almost improvisatory spontaneity to Bartók’s rhapsodic invention, yet ensure that the structural integrity of this tough and intellectually challenging music is never compromised…….

Erik Levi @ classical-music.com

Although it followed a formula similar to the hugely successful Memphis Underground, Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty stands on its own as a superb example of the fusion of jazz with '60s soul music, a genre that Herbie Mann stood atop at the time of its release. In addition to Mann band members Roy Ayers, Miroslav Vitous and Bruno Carr, the recording employs the Muscle Shoals rhythm section that had played together on numerous soul hits of the '60s, including those of Aretha Franklin. Standout cuts include the title track, with the its horn-driven groove; Sharrock's "Blind Willy," featuring a jew's-harp hook; and a smoldering version of Lennon & McCartney's "Come Together."

Special release on the heels of Jimi Jamison's "Crossroads Moments" which includes 7 studio recordings and 4 demos (sung by Jim Peterik) and features the singles "Dream Higher" & "Touch You There" 2010 Melodic Rock Records

Hydra is the brain child of Jens Buchert and this second album follows up the excellent Rendezvous in Space. The previous work was pure space music with a sense of sweeping wonder and awe woven into it everywhere. This offering is more focused on groove and beat. You might almost call it Techno Industrial or Dance at some points but there is still plenty of the science fiction sample here.

Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington Meets Count Basie (1962) {1999 Columbia Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 489 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 176 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 220 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1999 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | CK 65571
Jazz / Big Band / Swing

At first glance this collaboration should not have worked. The Duke Ellington and Count Basie Orchestras had already been competitors for 25 years but the leaders' mutual admiration (Ellington was one of Basie's main idols) and some brilliant planning made this a very successful and surprisingly uncrowded encounter. On most selections Ellington and Basie both play piano (their interaction with each other is wonderful) and the arrangements allowed the stars from both bands to take turns soloing. "Segue in C" is the highpoint but versions of "Until I Met You," "Battle Royal" and "Jumpin' at the Woodside" are not far behind.